Twelve Years of Christmas
by KHLostEmpress
Summary: Tsukimineshrine LJ Christmas challenge. Twelve short stories of twelve years of Sakura and Syaoran's Christmases.
1. Wish: Sakura

Author's Notes: Tsukimineshrine LJ CCS Twelve Prompts of Christmas challenge

This is a story of Sakura and Syaoran's Christmases through the years starting after the CCS storyline ends. This will be based off the manga ending, with a few additions from the anime put in, such as Meilin and the full 52 Card deck.

_Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptor Sakura._

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><p>Day One: Wish—Sakura<p>

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><p>Sakura Kinomoto lifted her face to the sky as the snow started to fall, adding to the already white world around her. She had exchanged gifts with her father and brother earlier that evening, so they didn't need her at home and neither had said a negative word when she said that she was going for a walk just before the sun started to set. Well, her brother had frowned disapprovingly and somewhat exasperatedly for a brief moment before making a snide comment about not slipping on the ice, but her father had just given a gentle and understanding smile before telling her to be careful and seeing her out the door.<p>

She was bundled up in her coat and scarf, but still the sun had set almost twenty minutes ago now, so she was freezing. It wasn't like she couldn't fix the problem, seeing as she could always go back home or (as there was no one around) pull out Firey to warm her up. She reached up a hand to play with the chain around her neck that held the miniature Star Wand. No, that wasn't it at all. She just didn't quite fill up to it at that very moment.

It was the first Christmas since Syaoran left.

There wasn't a single day she didn't think about him. They exchanged letters and phone calls as often as they could, and Syaoran was always reassuring her that he was going to come back to her as soon as he could. And usually, that was enough for her. She knew, after all, that she was generally just a cheerful and happy person. She found it rather hard not to find the bright side of things. But sometimes, like today, it was just a little bit harder to be away from him.

Christmas wasn't that big with her family—they usually just exchanged presents and then that was about it. But when she had gone out looking for some last minute things yesterday, she had seen lots of young couples walking around on their own Christmas Eve dates. And she had realized that she could have been doing the same thing if Syaoran had been here.

She lowered her face to find herself standing just outside the penguin park. She began to walk through it, still not really feeling ready to go home yet. She found herself by the swings and sat down on one of them, swinging back and forth just once, before coming to a stop with her hands still wrapped around the chains. Sakura looked at the empty swing beside her and could almost imagine him sitting there beside her. This was where he had comforted her after she had told Yukito her feelings.

Sakura wished she could see him.

Suddenly, she stood up quickly as she realized that she hadn't even gotten a present for him. Earlier in the week, she'd gotten a beautiful Christmas card from Syaoran. This year she'd made cookies as a present for all her friends—and had completely forgotten to get something for Syaoran himself.

She shivered and tugged her scarf closer around her neck and then stared at it as an idea started forming in her head. As fast as she could with her gloves on, she pulled out the phone from Tomoyo that she still carried around with her and dialed Tomoyo's number.

"Hello? Sakura?" Tomoyo answered almost immediately.

"Sorry, Tomoyo," Sakura said. "I hope I didn't interrupt anything with your mother."

"It's fine," Tomoyo said. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sakura assured her. "I need your help with something. Can I come over tomorrow?"

"Of course," Tomoyo said.

"Thank you!" Sakura exclaimed. Then, she said her farewells and almost skipped home. She would be a little late for Christmas and she might have to stay up late again to finish it, but it would be worth it for him.


	2. Scarf: Syaoran

Day Two: Scarf—Syaoran

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><p>In a completely non-characteristic fashion, Syaoran Li spread his arms wide and just fell backward down onto his bed, not even bothering to change out of his uniform or to take his bag off his back first, which lead to immediate discomfort, but he could not find the will to get up at the moment to fix it.<p>

Two years. Almost _two_ _years_ since he had seen Sakura.

He wished he could go back to Tomoeda, but he wasn't finished with Hong Kong yet. It wasn't even that he hated Hong Kong—it was his home, the place he grew up, and he loved it. But it just had the glaring imperfection of not having Sakura in it.

He groaned as he rolled over onto his side. Man, he was pathetic. Never would he have imagined needing someone as much as he did Sakura. He had expected to miss her, but he'd never suspected that her missing presence would leave this gaping hole in his chest.

"Why don't you just go?"

Syaoran sat up quickly to see Meilin standing in the doorway, already changed out of her uniform into a more casual shirt and skirt ensemble. That caused him to blink in confusion for a moment—how long had he just been laying here? He and Meilin went to the same school, meaning they left and came home at the same time, and Meilin wasn't exactly a quickly-throw-on-the-first-thing-she-could-find-in-her-closet type of girl. Especially since she'd started corresponding with Daidouji. Meilin placed her hands on her hips as she tapped her foot impatiently and raised an eyebrow. "Well?" she asked impatiently.

Finally, Syaoran remembered that she asked him a question. He scowled at her as he got to his feet and shrugged his backpack off his shoulders. "I can't just go," he said flatly.

Meilin rolled her eyes. "Why not? I'm sure Auntie could spare you over the break."

Syaoran went to his closet to find a shirt to change into. He pulled out the first thing his fingers touched—a green polo—shrugged at it in acceptance, and placed it on the bed as he said, "That's not the problem." He turned to go to his dresser, but Meilin was already there holding out a pair of jeans. He reached out a hand to take them, but Meilin did not let go of them when he tugged lightly on them. Syaoran sighed in defeat as Meilin just smiled innocently at him. "I'm not sure I'd be able to leave her again if I went," he said quietly.

Meilin let the jeans slip from her grasp, and Syaoran tossed them onto the bed next to his shirt. Meilin stepped closer to him and gave him a peck on his cheek. "How much longer do you think you have?" she asked.

"April," Syaoran answered immediately. "I'm going in April." There was silence for a moment. "Until then, all I have are letters and phone calls," he continued. "But they're just not—"

"—the same," Meilin finished for him with half a smile. "I know." She reached out and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. She let it go, and then turned and left the room.

Syaoran sighed and changed out of his uniform. He sat down at his desk and pulled out a piece of paper to write her a letter. As he reached out to grab a pencil, his eye caught on "Sakura", the pink teddy bear he had received those final moments as the bus pulled away, sitting on the corner of the desk. A small green scarf adorned her neck, a new addition from Sakura as a present last Christmas. He couldn't help but smile as he remembered how it had arrived—nearly a week after Christmas had ended. He had stared at it for a few moments wondering what exactly it was supposed to be, because it had looked like a scarf, but it had only been just over a foot long and a few inches wide—nowhere near large enough to actually _be_ a scarf for him. But then he had read the note that came with it—

_Syaoran,_

_I'm sorry this is so late! And that it's not big enough for you. But it was the best I could do with the time I had. You can give it to Sakura…not me, Sakura, but my…I mean your bear! It should be a perfect fit, since I tried it out on Syaoran…the bear, I mean. I'll make you a real one when we are together again!_

_Love,_

_Sakura_

—which had explained why it was so small. He'd put the scarf on "Sakura" right away, and there it had stayed ever since.

Syaoran froze as an idea occurred to him. He'd been struggling to figure out what to give to Sakura for Christmas this year, and he thought he might just have come up with something. He went over to his closet and pulled out his brown coat and headed for the front door after slipping his wallet into his back pocket.

He was almost out the door when he heard someone speak behind him. "Master Syaoran, is there something I could do for you?"

Syaoran turned to look at Wei who was standing there with a small smile on his lips. Syaoran shook his head and just said, "Tell Mother that I went out to buy something."

Wei bowed and Syaoran left out the door in search of a craft shop with a small on his face and a purpose to his step. He wasn't exactly an expert on making things, but he knew he'd be able to manage this—once he found the yarn to make it. He'd send it with his next letter.

A scarf for "Syaoran".


	3. Snow: Sakura

Day Three: Snow—Sakura

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><p>Sakura frowned slightly at the sky with just the barest downward turn of her lips, minutely disappointed. The sky was a clear bright blue with not so much as a wisp of a cloud in sight. Normally, this would not be a cause for concern or any other sort of dismayed feelings, but today was a rather different sort of day from which Sakura had been hoping for a certain type of weather.<p>

"What's wrong, Sakura? Are you cold?"

Sakura pulled her gaze down from the sky over to the concerned expression of her boyfriend, Syaoran, whom she should have been paying attention to in the first place, seeing as they were on a date at that very moment. So, she flashed a smile at him and said, "Nothing. I'm fine."

But apparently Syaoran didn't believe her as his frown just turned deeper. Sakura waved her hands in front of her as she quickly said, "No, really. It's not really anything."

"Which means it's still something," Syaoran said almost instantly.

Sakura opened her mouth to reply and realized that he had a point. She sighed heavily and muttered, "It's just silly."

"That doesn't matter to me," Syaoran said. "If something's bothering you, I want to know about it."

Finally, after a few moments of biting her lip, she gave in and exclaimed, "It's not snowing!" Namely, it was Christmas Eve and there wasn't so much as a speck of snow on the ground. It just didn't seem right to have a Christmas without snow. She looked over at Syaoran apprehensively but found what she could only describe as an indulgent and exasperated smile on his face—she didn't know why she was expecting him to laugh at her, since Syaoran didn't exactly laugh very often. She blinked at him confused and said, "What?"

He gave her a small shrug and asked, quite seriously, "Why don't you change that?"

Sakura rolled her eyes at him and said, "You can't just _change_ the _weather_, Syaoran."

To her surprise, Syaoran let out a small chuckle—now was not the time Sakura had been expecting him to laugh at her. "You have the Sakura Cards, right?"

"Of course," Sakura said, confused why he would ask her that. Her hand moved unconsciously to finger the bag that she kept them in slung around her neck. She never went anywhere without her cards, though she did not often use them.

"And the Star Wand?" Syaoran asked and there was an expectant look in his eyes that Sakura just did not understand. Sakura nodded to his question and he smiled at her as he continued, "Then I don't think it would be a bad idea to gift Tomoeda with some snow."

Sakura was just about to ask Syaoran _what_ he was talking about when her eyes widened in realization of what he had been saying all along. "Oh!" she exclaimed. Without another word, she grabbed onto Syaoran's hand—which caused a minor exclamation of "W-wait!" from the boy which Sakura promptly ignored—and started running down the street, pulling Syaoran behind her. She found her way to a copse of trees and finally let go of Syaoran's hand, who immediately crossed his arms in front of his chest and turned his gaze away from her, but Sakura was too excited to really notice.

Sakura glanced around to make sure that no one was around or could see them, and then reached to her neck and tugged the tiny key out from underneath her shirt and coat. She pulled it over her head and held it out in front of her, speaking the spell she had said so many times before:

_Key that hides the power of the stars,_

_Show your true form before me._

_I, Sakura, command you under our contract._

_Release!_

With a whirl of magical wind, the Star Wand extended out in front of her and she grasped the rod in her hand. She reached into her bag, pulled out one of her Sakura Cards, and flung it into the air as she called out, "Snow!" She lifted the Star Wand up to activate the card and Snow appeared out of the card into a swirl of flurries. Sakura smiled with delight as Snow flew up into the air and caused white snowflakes to drift around them.

As the Sakura did her work of covering Tomoeda in a blanket of white, she looked at Syaoran with a wide smile and said, "Thank you, Syaoran."

With a smile of his own, he reached out slowly to take her hand and said, "You're welcome, Sakura."


	4. Cheer: Meilin

Day Four: Cheer—Meilin

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><p>"But what if they don't <em>like<em> me?"

Meilin had to cover up a smile at Sakura's nearly whining anxious question, which was just so not typical of Sakura. She'd volunteered to go with Wei to pick up Syaoran and Sakura from the airport—the former having invited the latter home to Hong Kong for the duration of the winter break between trimesters. Sakura had been her normal cheerful self at the airport—bubbly happy in her delight at seeing Meilin again. But, inexplicably, she'd become more and more anxious the closer they got to the house.

"They've already met you," Syaoran reminded her gently. "And it was my mother who invited you in the first place."

Sakura let out her typical cry of dismay before exclaiming, "She did?"

Meilin turned around in her seat in time to catch Syaoran's affirmative nod. She rolled her eyes—how like Syaoran to leave something like that out. "Trust me," Meilin interjected. "Syaoran's sisters already love you. They have been talking non-stop for the last month about getting to see 'Syaoran's cute girlfriend'," she finished using her fingers as quotation marks.

Syaoran buried his face in his hand as, with a tone full of resignation, he said, "You told them?"

Meilin smirked. "Of course. Do you really think it would have been better to just turn up with Sakura?"

He heaved a sigh and said, "I suppose not."

It was at that moment that the car stopped in front of the door. Sakura's eyes went wide as she stared at the house. Syaoran opened the car door and grabbed her hand silently as he pulled her out of the car. Meilin followed them out with Wei trailing along behind them. They made it about three steps from the door before it burst open and Syaoran's sisters piled out en masse and smothered their younger brother in their arms exclaiming things like, "You've gotten so tall!", "Why haven't you come home more?", and "Where's your girlfriend?" Syaoran seemed to accept all of this with a tolerant exasperation, just like Meilin had seen before. Almost as one, they all seemed to notice Sakura at the same moment, who was just staring at the sight of Syaoran and his sisters with wide—almost frightened—eyes. The sisters stared at her for a few moments blankly, but Meilin counted backward in her head until (3…2…1…) sure enough all of them let out identical high pitched squeals and exclaimed:

"HOW…"

"A—"

"—DOR—"

"—ABLE!"

—and Sakura (with her classic cry of dismay) found herself accosted in much the same manner as Syaoran had just moments before. They ushered Sakura inside, leaving the rest of them to follow, firing off questions to her left and right but leaving no actual time for Sakura to answer any of them.

Once inside, they were met by Meilin's aunt, Yelan, who managed to get Sakura free from her daughters with a mere glance. She smiled warmly and said, "Welcome back to my home, Miss Kinomoto."

Sakura seemed to recover a bit from meeting Syaoran's sisters for the first time in years as she smiled somewhat normally and said, "Thank you for inviting me!"

Yelan smiled back and then turned to her son and said, "Syaoran."

Syaoran instantly stiffened his posture as his mother addressed him. "Yes, Mother?"

"See to the needs of your guest," Yelan instructed. "We will talk more later once you have recovered from your journey."

"Yes, Mother," Syaoran said, but he didn't relax until Yelan had left the room—taking her daughters with her.

Meilin smiled and nudged Sakura, who was looking a little star-shocked. "Cheer up," she said. "I told you that they like you."

Sakura looked at Meilin and asked, "What do they do to people they don't like?"

Meilin rolled her eyes and said, "You don't want to know."


	5. Mistletoe: Tomoyo

Day Five: Mistletoe—Tomoyo

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><p>Tomoyo had it all planned out. At last, she would have her revenge.<p>

She wasn't normally a vindictive type of girl, but really, _how dare_ Li show up without warning, causing Tomoyo to miss _forever_ the chance to film what was sure to have been Sakura's cutest face at their long awaited reunion? It may have been almost three years ago now, but Tomoyo had never forgotten her disappointment that morning when Sakura had arrived—all smiles—and hadn't told Tomoyo a thing of why she was so ecstatically happy. Of course, Tomoyo had figured it out when the teacher told them they had a new transfer student and Li walked into the classroom. But now he was going to make it up to her by allowing her to film their first kiss. From five different angles. Right in front of Toya.

Not that he knew that.

Yet.

…

So maybe she was a little vindictive.

Though Tomoyo couldn't figure out _why_ he hadn't kissed her yet. She could understand it at first—they were still young and they hadn't seen each other in two years. There was bound to be an adjustment period in that situation. But they were sixteen now, and Tomoyo was ready to get the moment on tape.

Still, Tomoyo wouldn't discount that Li might have tried to kiss Sakura already—with her inadvertently stopping him in one way or another. Or Toya inexplicably turning up at all the wrong moments. It probably wouldn't occur to Sakura in a million years that Li was trying to kiss her. She was a lot better than she used to be, but Sakura was still rather dense when it came to things like that. So, Tomoyo considered it her duty as his friend to help him out. Just as she had helped him realize his feelings when they were twelve. And nothing was going to stand in her way. She had, after all, two secret weapons: mistletoe and Christmas.

Speaking of which…

She looked around the perfectly decorated room, her eyes lingering in the four corners of the room where her cameras were set up. She checked the bag at her side where she kept her camcorder with just a hand to reassure herself that it was still there (not that it ever _wasn't_ there). Soon her Christmas party (all planned just for that one particular event) would begin.

The Kinomotos (with Tsukishiro in tow) arrived first, but Li wasn't much longer behind them with the surprise addition of Meilin—who told Tomoyo she decided to spend the break with Li and she hoped she didn't mind her barging in. Tomoyo, far from minding, was absolutely _delighted_ to have her there and used the first opportunity to whisper her plan to Meilin, who became her second willing accomplice. Her first had been Kero, who agreed to hold the mistletoe above them so Tomoyo wouldn't have the problem of coaxing Sakura and Li to where the mistletoe was.

As the Christmas party progressed, she kept an eye on the pair, waiting until they were in a position that would give all five angles a good view. Just as Tomoyo was about to give up and gently herd them into the right position, they both stopped in the near center of the room and started to speak together. Hiding a grin, Tomoyo pulled out her camcorder from its bag and caught Kero's attention, as she started to film.

With enthusiasm, Kero flew into the air above Sakura and Li and exclaimed, "Mistletoe time!"

Instantly (as Tomoyo had expected), Li's face turned bright red, and he started sputtering protests. Sakura's face flushed as well, but she just lowered her gaze slightly. Tomoyo glanced to the side, where Sakura's father and Tsukishiro were just smiling gently amused, but Toya looked like he wanted to destroy something—anything—_right now. _

Meilin, in true accomplice fashion, smirked and said, "You have to, Syaoran. It's tradition."

"But—" Li started to protest but was cut off when—to everyone's complete and utter amazement (including Tomoyo's)—Sakura stood up on her toes and kissed Li herself for just a brief moment. When she pulled away, it was clear that it was Li himself who was the most surprised by Sakura's actions—he might as well have been made from stone, he was standing so still. A bright red stone, but a stone nonetheless.

Face still slightly pink, Sakura let out a cheerful giggle, turned to Tomoyo, and asked (as if she hadn't just kissed her boyfriend for the first time in front of her family), "Why don't we open presents?"

Tomoyo recovered almost instantly after that and said, "Of course," as she lowered the camera. She glanced around the room again—Kinomoto and Tsukishiro both had even more amused smiles on their faces, while you could _literally_ see some of the veins pulsing on Toya's foreheads, and Meilin looked like she was about to burst into laughter. Kero, for once, seemed to be speechless as he stared at his mistress. Everyone headed for the couches around the tree (Tomoyo whispered a "you're welcome" to Li as Sakura lead him by the hand passed her, still rather stiff) when suddenly Tomoyo remembered something and said, "Oh no!"

"What is it, Tomoyo?" Sakura asked, instantly concerned.

"I forgot to have you change into the outfit I made you," Tomoyo said, supremely disappointed as she remembered the adorable red and white fur ensemble she had modeled after Santa Claus's suit.

Needless to say, Meilin could not hold onto her laughter a second more.


	6. Winter: Yukito

Day Six: Winter—Yukito

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><p>He looked sort of pathetic, sitting there on the swing, Yukito noted as he walked passed on his way to see Toya at the Kinomoto home. A red gift bag with green tissue paper tufting out of it was set on the ground beside him. The park was empty and night had fallen a while back—but then, it always got dark early at this time of year. Yukito didn't know all the details, but Toya had been smirkingly delighted when he informed Yukito almost two weeks ago that Li and Sakura weren't talking to each other after some fight they had.<p>

Yukito didn't know what had started the argument, but he was pretty sure this was the longest time the two had gone not talking to each other in any fight they've had. Sakura was about as miserable as Yukito had ever seen her—which had definitely taken the edge off Toya's smugness.

And, from the look of him, Li wasn't doing much better himself.

Yukito decided then and there that he was going to do everything he could to see them reconciled that very night. He walked over to Li, who looked up, unsurprised, at his approach. "Hello," Yukito greeted cheerfully.

"Hello," Li said downcast.

Deciding that there was no use in beating around the bush, Yukito asked, "What started the argument?"

Li did look slightly startled at that (it was rather abrupt, but Yukito was eager to get them back together ASAP so that Sakura would be her cheerful self again). But he got over it quickly as he replied succinctly, "An apple."

"An…apple?" Yukito repeated, confused by how such an unassuming thing could be the cause of such misery.

Li sighed heavily. "Yeah…It's kind of complicated, and…well…I don't really want to talk about it," he finished with another sigh.

There was silence between them until Yukito said, "Come with me to see her."

"What?" Li exclaimed as he looked up at Yukito startled.

"I'm on the way to their house now to exchange Christmas gifts," Yukito said with a smile. He stared pointedly at the bag sitting at Li's feet. "It seems that you have one to deliver yourself. Besides, it's time you two just apologized to each other." He smiled, and continued, "You are Sakura's number one."

Li looked down at the ground and scoffed it with his foot. Suddenly, he reached down and picked up the bag before he stood up. There was a determined expression on his face as the two of them walked together to the Kinomoto residence. As the approached the front porch, Li hung back slightly as Yukito rang the doorbell.

Yukito could feel the anxiety rolling off Li as they heard the heavy footsteps (clearly not Sakura herself) approaching the door. When it opened, Toya stood in the doorway. He greeted Yukito warmly, but Yukito could tell the exact moment when Toya noticed Li standing behind him. His expression froze into a half-frown—he didn't say a word, but just stared at Li for a few moments before he turned and started walking away. Yukito didn't know what that meant as he stepped into the house to follow Toya (clearly, Li didn't either as he just stood in front of the doorway—at least, Toya hadn't slammed the door in his face). As Toya approached the hallway, however, he called out, "Oi! Sakura! Someone's at the door for you."

There was the sound of quick light steps accompanied by Sakura asking, "Who is it? Tomoyo?" She turned the corner with an expectant smile on her face, which fell immediately as she froze upon seeing Li at the doorstep. After a few seconds of silently staring at each other, Sakura walked across the foyer to the doormat.

"I...uh," Li started to say, but then fell silent again. Yukito noticed Toya crossed his arms in front of his chest as they watched the two of them.

The two stared at each other for almost another full minute before, at the exact same moment, they both said, "I'm sorry."

It only took another second for Sakura to throw her arms around Li, laughing. "Let's not do that again," she said with relief clearly evident in her voice as she pulled away. There was now a smile on Li's face as well as he nodded. Sakura glanced down at the bag in his hands and asked, "What's that?"

His face slightly flushed now, Li rubbed the back of his hand with his free hand and lifted the bag slightly as he said, "It's your Christmas present."

"Oh!" Sakura exclaimed. "I have yours too! It's up in my room!" And with that she turned right around and ran across the hall and flew up the stairs, leaving Li standing in the doorway once more alone.

A few silent seconds passed before Toya suddenly said, "You're letting in the cold air."

Li looked slightly startled and worried at his words, but Yukito smiled reassuringly at him as he said, "He means he wants you to come in." As Li complied and came in the door to close it, Yukito said quietly to Toya, "You helped them because you know he makes Sakura happy, right?"

"Shut up," Toya said as he turned his gaze away, causing Yukito to smile at his still-most-definitely-there sister complex.


	7. Reunion: Eriol

Day Seven: Reunion—Eriol

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><p>Eriol was infinitely amused as he watched Kaho wandering around their hotel bedroom, searching for the gifts she had misplaced <em>yet again<em>. "Kaho," he said gently as he was going to tell her where she had left them this time. But she cut him off before he could finish.

"I know," she said as she got on her knees to check under the bed. "We're going to be late, but I can't leave until I find them. I was sure I left them in here," she finished softly as she straightened and placed her elbows on the bed.

"You did," Eriol interjected. He laughed at Kaho's puzzled expression as she looked at him, which disappeared as he finished, "Yesterday. Today, you left them on the kitchen counter."

Kaho blinked at him for a few seconds before she stood and walked briskly passed him out to the living area. Eriol followed her where she successfully located the gift bags just where he said they would be. Minutes later, they were on their way to see Sakura at the Daidouji residence. Upon hearing about Eriol and Kaho's plans on visiting at the end of December, Daidouji had gracefully offered her own home to hold a Christmas party for them.

Sakura and Li were already there when they arrived (due to being a little late because of Kaho's search for presents). When they walked into the room, Sakura bounded over to them with a wide smile, exclaiming, "Eriol! Miss Mizuki!" Then she gasped and laughed as she said, "Oops…I mean, Mrs. Hiiragizawa!"

Eriol and Kaho exchanged an amused glance at Sakura's mistake. They'd gotten married the previous summer (once Eriol looked old enough for it—just as he used his magic to halt his aging, he'd slowly used it to reverse the process growing roughly two years for every one that passed (he planned on stopping as soon as he was even with Kaho) so now he was about in his mid-twenties, physically anyway). They'd even flown Sakura and her friends out for the occasion. Kaho smiled at Sakura and just said, "Just call me Kaho."

Sakura flushed and shook her head emphatically, "No…I couldn't…"

Kaho laughed softly and said, "I insist."

"All right…Miss Kaho," Sakura said and Eriol could tell she wasn't quite ready to completely drop the "Miss" yet.

It was at this moment that Tomoyo and Li walked up to the group and said their hellos as well. Kero popped out from where he had been hovering behind the tree (probably peeking at the presents, Eriol surmised with a fond smile) and boisterously asked, "Is it time for cake yet?"

While Li rolled his eyes and Sakura exclaimed in annoyance, "Kero!", Tomoyo, Eriol, and Kaho all just laughed.


	8. Midnight: Syaoran

Day Eight: Midnight—Syaoran

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><p>It was the fireworks that told Syaoran what time it was. He watched them for a few seconds out the window before he looked down at where Sakura was sleeping peacefully against him. His arm was draped around her shoulder as her head rested against his shoulder with her legs curled up on the couch. They were in his hotel suite, where they had come after their date earlier that day. The fire in the fireplace was still blazing with warmth and light across from them, as Syaoran had neither the chance nor the desire to turn it off.<p>

Sakura had been so sure and adamant that she was going to make it this year. But midnight had arrived at last, and Sakura was completely and utterly sound asleep. He'd had strict orders from her ("Don't you dare let me go to sleep, Syaoran. I want to watch the fireworks with you.") and he'd made some half-hearted attempts to keep her awake the first few times he'd caught her dozing off. But, ultimately, he'd given up when she fell asleep in the middle of a sentence over an hour ago and no amount of gentle prodding or softly calling her name had even so much as caused a single stir out of her.

As gently as he could he reached out his free hand and pulled the clip out that was still holding up her hair, causing the tresses to fall down around her face. Once he set the clip aside, he brushed a few loose strands away from her face that had fallen on her cheeks.

He placed a soft kiss on her brow before he leaned back against the back of the couch once more, wondering what exactly he should do now. He had no desire to wake her up (and no idea if he actually _could_ wake her up if he tried—she was, after all, a very heavy sleeper), but he didn't relish what her brother and father (but mostly just her brother) would say after learning she stayed all night.

True, he could probably get her home without waking her, but he really wanted to spend as much time as he could with her seeing as he had to return to Hong Kong tomorrow. He hated being away from Sakura, but he had chosen a university there while Sakura had remained in Tomoeda. Unlike the last time, they were separated, they planned on seeing each other at every break they could, but Syaoran almost couldn't believe that they still had over three years to be apart from each other.

Coming to a decision, Syaoran hooked his free arm underneath her knees and picked her up in his arms as he came to his feet. He carried her across the room and nudged the bedroom door open further with his foot. Carefully, he walked through the door frame before going and laying Sakura down on the bed. He grabbed an extra blanket from the closet and laid it over her before he sat down next to her. As he brushed away stray curls again from her face, he bent down and kissed her forehead.

"Happy New Year, Sakura," he whispered against her skin before he stood and left the room.


	9. Tree: Fujitaka

Day Nine: Tree—Fujitaka

* * *

><p>Fujitaka set the last dish he had just washed onto the drying rack. He grabbed the towel from his shoulder to dry off his hands as he started to walk to the living room. He smiled in amusement as he saw Sakura and her boyfriend, Syaoran Li, decorating a Christmas tree (he also spotted Sakura's guardian, Kero, flying around the tree helping as well). It wasn't something that they normally did, but Sakura had come home from her last day of classes at the university and had practically been jumping up and down wondering whether they could put up a Christmas tree this year. Fujitaka didn't know what had her so excited or so eager to put one up, but he hadn't seen the harm in it or any reason not to, so he had, of course, given his permission. It wasn't until this morning (two days before Christmas), however, that she had gone out with Li to buy one (he had arrived from Hong Kong last night), coming home with a good eight foot fir tree complete with a set of beautiful pink and green ornaments.<p>

"I'm glad that they're doing so well," a familiar whispered from behind his shoulder.

Fujitaka turned to give his wife a smile as she floated in the air watching the pair in the living room. "Yes," he said softly as he turned his gaze back to the living room. He could feel her ghost hands coming to rest on his shoulders. Sakura stepped up onto a stool to reach higher on the tree and Fujitaka saw that immediately Li turned to look at her with watchful, protective eyes. Which he knew was probably warranted as, even though Sakura had inherited his athleticism, she had also seemed to acquire some of her mother's clumsiness, as well. "I imagine that they won't wait much longer now," he continued softly, touching his own ring around his finger.

Nadeshiko placed a kiss on his cheek as she said, "Yes." A moment later, he didn't feel her hands anymore and he knew that she had left again, but he wasn't terribly sad as he knew that it wouldn't be long until he saw her again.

Almost as if on cue, at that very moment, Sakura took a wobbled step on the stool and started to fall backward off it, but Fujitaka didn't worry, as he knew Li would be there to catch her. And (just as he predicted) with a speed that he wasn't completely sure wasn't magical on some level, Li was there behind her, and she fell directly into his waiting arms.

"Thanks, Syaoran," she said as she smiled brightly up at him.

"Just be more careful next time, Sakura," he replied as he set her back on the ground with a gentle smile that Fujitaka had only ever seen him use when looked at his daughter. Then, Fujitaka was quite sure that they hadn't realized he was there as Sakura reached her arms around Li's neck and kissed him on the lips.

With another amused smile, Fujitaka turned away to start drying the dishes and to give the young couple the time together that they deserved.


	10. Cocoa: Toya

Day Ten: Cocoa—Toya

* * *

><p>Toya sipped his cup of cocoa as he sat at the kitchen table watching the brat as he sat on the living room couch. He thought it was about time he set some things straight. So with Sakura preoccupied upstairs (finishing getting packed for her trip to Hong Kong—the kid had showed up yesterday to escort her and Toya had expected no less), now seemed like the perfect time. But considering she had put it off until the last moment, he had at least ten or fifteen minutes of free interrogation time. He got up and picked out another empty mug, filling it up with some more cocoa (it wasn't like he made some for the kid, he just <em>happened<em> to have extra). With a sense of purpose, Toya walked into the living room, inwardly extremely pleased that the brat seemed to watch him warily as he approached.

Setting the cup down on the table in front of the kid, he said briefly and emphatically, "I don't like you." Then he went and sat down on the corner of the couch farthest away from him.

"I know," Li said with a single lifted eyebrow and almost in a confused tone, as if he was wondering why Toya was telling him this. He glanced at the mug of cocoa in front of him and then back up at Toya. Toya just shrugged at him, which wasn't really an answer, but Li still picked up the mug and sipped at the warm drink. "Thank you," he said once he had lowered the mug again (with probably the less amount of gratitude anyone could say those words with and still actually mean them).

Toya just shrugged at him again as he took a larger drink from his own glass. He continued as if the brat hadn't spoken at all as he said, "But you make Sakura happy, so I guess you're not a total loss."

Li just looked at him with a puzzled expression and said nothing this time. Toya, however, was satisfied that he had gotten his point across. The two men just sat in silence for a few minutes, drinking their cocoa. Li set his cup down on the table, apparently finished. The only sound that could be heard was the ticking of the clock and Sakura's movements upstairs as she packed.

After a few minutes later, once his cocoa was gone, Toya stood up and walked over to where the kid's empty mug sat back on the table. "I'm going to marry her," the cheeky brat had the gall to say to him defiantly.

"You better," Toya bit back out at him in return as he grabbed his empty mug as the two of them continued to glared at each other.

It was at that very moment that Sakura could be heard bumping her suitcase down the stairs. A few seconds later, she appeared in the doorway with her wheeled suitcase in tow. She started to say, "I'm ready to go—Toya, have you been mean to Syaoran again?" she cut off in the middle to ask her brother as she crossed her arms in front of her chest.

Toya walked over to his sister with a smirk and rubbed the top of her head as he said, "Wouldn't you like to know, monster?"

"I am not a monster!" Sakura yelled at him as Toya dodged her kick to his leg and walked up the stairs.


	11. Ring: Sakura

Day Eleven: Ring—Sakura

* * *

><p>Syaoran was holding her hand as he walked her home after they had finished their Christmas Eve date. Sakura was especially happy this break, knowing it was the final one before they both graduated (though Syaoran planned on going on to get an even higher degree, but this time he had chosen a university in Tokyo to go to) and then they would be together again. They wouldn't have to worry about only seeing each other during the break between school semesters.<p>

They were almost to her house when Syaoran suddenly stopped and said, "Wait, Sakura." Sakura turned to look at him with a questioning smile on her face. He was fiddling with something in his pocket and looked somewhat nervous all of the sudden.

"What is it, Syaoran?" she asked. He sighed heavily and pulled something out of his pocket. Sakura could tell it was a small red jewelry box and wondered briefly if it was what Syaoran had gotten her for a Christmas present (which didn't make much sense after she thought it, since she had already received a present from him).

When he held out the tiny box to her and whispered, "Merry Christmas," Sakura was expecting to open it and find a nice pair of earrings or a necklace charm. But when she opened it, inside was a golden ring with a diamond set into it. Sakura stared at it silently—on some level, she knew exactly what it was and what it meant, and she couldn't even say she was completely surprised by it, but that did still not seem to stop her from being completely speechless and shocked at it sitting in her hands. Finally, she looked back up at Syaoran, who was looking at her with that smile he saved just for her but this time with some extra amusement in it. That was when she realized he was laughing at her—not out loud, but he was laughing all the same. "Marry me, Sakura," he added even more quietly.

Quite suddenly, everything became clear in those words, and Sakura leaped at Syaoran and threw her arms around him. "Yes," she exclaimed excitedly. This time he could hear him chuckle out loud deep in his chest. She felt his hand reach to hers to take the box back out of her grasp as he pulled slightly away. She couldn't help herself as she bounced on her feet from her toes to her heels as he pulled the ring out of the box and pulled off her left glove and slipped the ring onto the right finger. Sakura smiled widely at it (Tomoyo was going to freak tomorrow when Sakura showed her). "I love you, Syaoran," she said as she turned her gaze back up to him.

Syaoran pulled her closer and placed a soft kiss on her lips before he replied, "I love you, Sakura." Sakura threw her arms around his neck as their lips touched once more.


	12. Present: Syaoran

Day Twelve: Present—Syaoran

* * *

><p>Syaoran wasn't absolutely positively sure his wife was completely sane. As he walked into their apartment in Tokyo three days before Christmas, the first thing he saw was Power carrying the laundry basket over her head through the hall and into the bedroom. After a moment's shock of seeing a Sakura Card in such a mundane household use, he set down his bag and called out, "Sakura?"<p>

Receiving no response, he decided to follow Power, so he set down his bag and walked after her into the bedroom. Power had the drawers open and was putting away the clothes, but that wasn't what caught his immediate attention. Sakura was lying on the bed, clearly fast asleep. He wondered briefly why she was taking a nap (since she didn't usually do such things), but he didn't want to disturb her, so he walked back out of the bedroom.

He walked down to the kitchen to discover that Power had been only just the beginning—there were four more Sakura Cards in the room doing the dishes. Rain and Bubbles were at the kitchen sink actually washing the dishes. Once they were clean, Wood was there grabbing them in her vines as Windy used her gentle winds to dry them off. Syaoran stood in the doorway as he stared incredulously for a few seconds—wondering if he was actually seeing what he was seeing—before he actually walked into the room.

"I know I'm not your master," he said and the Cards all stopped what they were doing to stare at him. Unsure of whether or not this was actually going to work (he'd never made a request of the Sakura Cards before, but he figured the worst they would do would be to ignore him), he continued to ask, "But would you please return to your cards? I'll take care of Sakura now."

Almost instantly, Wood and Windy looked at each other and shared an almost secretive smile with each other before they looked back at Syaoran. Wood set down the dish in her vines and then both of them shrunk back down into their cards that flew right in front of Syaoran. He picked them out of the air as Bubbles was close behind her fellow cards. Rain, giggling madly, squirted a mist of water at him before also returning to her card form.

Syaoran took the cards in his hand and returned back to the bedroom where he found Sakura and Power just where he left them. Power looked at him and, with a glare that he didn't quite understand, also returned to her card without a fight. He set the Sakura Cards down on the nightstand before he took a seat next to Sakura on the bed, just to watch her while she slept, but, once he sat down, she rolled over, rubbing her eyes tiredly. "Syaoran?" she muttered almost incoherently.

He brushed the strands of hair away from her face and asked, "Sakura, why were the cards doing the dishes?"

She just looked at him confused for a moment, but then she said, "I was feeling tired and the cards wanted to help so I let them out and let them help me, but then I laid down for just a minute and I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I remember is you right now."

Syaoran was instantly concerned—not only because she was tired at an odd time of the day, but because that was quite the incoherent run-on sentence, even for Sakura—so he asked, "Sakura, is everything all right? Are you not feeling well?"

Sakura looked practically panicked at this question as she sat up with wide eyes and a flushed face. "You weren't supposed to find out yet!" she blurted out suddenly. "I was waiting for Christmas!"

Having absolutely no idea what she was talking about, he asked, "Find out what?"

"Nothing," she replied quickly…which Syaoran didn't believe in the slightest.

He narrowed his eyes suspiciously at her as he said, "Sakura. Tell me right now." Sakura turned her gaze down at her hands, where she was pushing her two pointer fingers against each other. In a quiet whisper, she mumbled something that Syaoran didn't understand at all. "What?" he asked.

Sakura raised her head slightly up and looked up at him out of the top of her eyes. This time she spoke just loud enough that he could understand her but still rather quietly. "I'm pregnant," she whispered.

It took almost a full ten seconds for those words to process in Syaoran's mind. Once he fully realized what she had said, his face broke out into a wide smile that could only be contested by the smile he wore the day he married Sakura. He cupped Sakura's cheeks in his hands and lifted her face to kiss her. Sakura pulled away slightly to ask, "So…you're happy about this, right?"

He pulled away so that Sakura could see his expression—once she did, she gave him her brightest smile as well. "I think it's the second best present I've ever received," he said to her.

Her brows furrowed in confusion at that as she asked, "Second? What's the first then?"

Instead of answering, he just pulled her back to him so that he could kiss her again.


End file.
